2. Acute of mind; sharp; penetrating; having or expressing mental acuteness; as, a man of keen understanding; a
keen look; keen features.
To make our wits more keen.
Shak.
Before the keen inquiry of her thought.
Cowper. 3. Bitter; piercing; acrimonious; cutting; stinging; severe; as, keen satire or sarcasm.
Good father cardinal, cry thou amen
To my keen curses.
Shak. 4. Piercing; penetrating; cutting; sharp; — applied to cold, wind, etc.; as, a keen wind; the cold is very keen.
Breasts the keen air, and carols as he goes.
Goldsmith. 5. Eager; vehement; fierce; as, a keen appetite. "Of full kene will." Piers Plowman.
So keen and greedy to confound a man.
Shak. Keen is often used in the composition of words, most of which are of obvious signification; as, keen-
edged, keen-eyed, keen-sighted, keen-witted, etc.
Syn. — Prompt; eager; ardent; sharp; acute; cutting; penetrating; biting; severe; sarcastic; satirical; piercing; shrewd.
Keen
(Keen), v. t. To sharpen; to make cold. [R.]
Cold winter keens the brightening flood.
Thomson. Keen
(Keen), n. [Ir. caoine.] A prolonged wail for a deceased person. Cf. Coranach. [Ireland] Froude.
Keen
(Keen), v. i. To wail as a keener does. [Ireland]
Keener
(Keen"er) n. A professional mourner who wails at a funeral. [Ireland]
Keenly
(Keen"ly), adv. In a keen manner.
Keenness
(Keen"ness), n. The quality or state of being keen.
Keep
(Keep) v. t. [imp. & p. p. Kept (kept); p. pr. & vb. n. Keeping.] [OE. kepen, AS. cepan to
keep, regard, desire, await, take, betake; cf. AS. copenere lover, OE. copnien to desire.]
1. To care; to desire. [Obs.]
I kepe not of armes for to yelp [boast].
Chaucer. 2. To hold; to restrain from departure or removal; not to let go of; to retain in one's power or possession; not
to lose; to retain; to detain.
If we lose the field,
We can not keep the town.
Shak.
That I may know what keeps me here with you.
Dryden.
If we would weigh and keep in our minds what we are considering, that would instruct us.
Locke.
